22 teaspoons of sugar?

Wow. That's a lot of sugar.

A spoonful of sugar? Americans are swallowing 22 teaspoons of sugar each day, and it's time to cut way back, the American Heart Association says.

Most of that added sugar comes from soft drinks and candy — a whopping 355 calories and the equivalent of guzzling two cans of soda and eating a chocolate bar.

By comparison, most women should be getting no more than 6 teaspoons a day, or 100 calories, of added sugar — the sweeteners and syrups that are added to foods during processing, preparation or at the table. For most men, the recommended limit is 9 teaspoons, or 150 calories, the heart group says.

Read More......

Michele Brown, former top aide to GOP candidate for Governor of New Jersey, resigned today amid scandal over his undisclosed loan to her

Last week, we learned that the GOP candidate for governor in New Jersey, Chris Christie, who used to be the U.S. Attorney for New Jersey, loaned a former subordinate a large sum of money and failed to report it as required by law. At the time, I wrote:

Am I the only person who finds it odd that Christie was loaning large sums to his "subordinate"? I'd like to hear more about the relationship between Christie and Michele Brown. This seems very shady -- and shady in that, "there has to be more going on here" way.

Apparently, a lot of people are interested in this situation. So much so, that the subordinate in question, Michelle Brown, quit her job today:

The federal prosecutor at the center of the controversy over a loan made by New Jersey gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie has resigned.

In her resignation letter dated today, Michele Brown, the acting first assistant U.S. Attorney for New Jersey, said it has been an "honor and privilege" to serve, but she does not want to be "a distraction" for the office.

I think she's already a "distraction." Something tells me that we haven't heard the last of this controversy. Keep in mind, both Christie and Brown were federal prosecutors when this loan transpired. From what I've gleaned, it's rather unprecedented for a U.S. Attorney to loan a staffer almost $50,000 -- and, then not report it as required by law. So, yeah, it's a distraction and will be until all the questions are answered. Read More......

On getting good health insurance reform policy by working for it ourselves

Tonight, the ActBlue page for the House members who are standing up for the public option topped $400,000 with almost 6,700 individual contributors. That's nothing short of amazing. And, it shows that the "left of the left" is energized. Every dollar donated to that effort sends that message. And what do we want? We want Obama and the Democrats on Congress to deliver on their campaign promises for real health insurance reform. That's it. Major kudos to those who have led the charge especially Jane Hamsher, Howie Klein, nyceve and slinkerwink at DailyKos and scarecrow at FDL, among many others. This effort is giving progressives on the Hill their spine. They actually have power and can't be taken for granted by Rahm Emanuel and Jim Messina.

On the Senate side, Chris Bowers has been doing a whip count. So far, there are 45 solid Senate commitments for the public option. Chris has targeted five Senators who can put us over the top and you can help:

You can participate by sending a fax to each of these five Senators, asking them five specific questions on where they stand on a public option. It is quick, it is easy, it is supported by a range of other actions, and it is important

* Send a fax to Mark Begich, asking him if he supports the public option!
* Send a fax to Tom Carper, asking him if he supports the public option!
* Send a fax to Jon Tester, asking him if he supports the public option!
* Send a fax to Mark Warner, asking him if he supports the public option!
* Send a fax to Ron Wyden, asking him if he supports the public option!

Your actions are layered by media requests to each Senator from local bloggers, new field staff from Democracy for America, and mass emails to Stand with Dr. Dean members in each of these five states.

We can win this, changing not only health care, but the whole country in the process. Please, no matter where you are and what time you are reading this, send out faxes to these five Senators now.

Send your faxes tonight. And, remember, Democratic candidates are always asking us for help -- even if we don't live in their states or districts, they ask. And, we often give it to them. But, now, we're asking them to deliver on the promises they made to us.

It starting to feel like it is working. McJoan at DailyKos has a great post tonight on Chuck Schumer's commitment to the public option. Schumer really gets politics better than any of his colleagues. As Chair of the DSCC, he brought the Democrats from 45 seats in 2006 to 60 now. Chuck's colleagues should listen to him on this one. (And, Harry Reid should start cracking the whip, too.)

And, Chris Bowers is right: we change the country. Read More......

Arlen Specter keeps pushing GOP/FOX talking points on FOX, no less. Joe Sestak obliterated it.

We wrote about the FOX-led lie on the "death book" for veterans earlier today. But, it's important to see who keeps pushing this fraud. This morning, Arlen Specter appeared on FOX News to keep up the drumbeat on the FOX-led lies. It's appalling that a Democrat (even a new one like Specter) would continue spreading these falsehoods. Media Matters has the video of Specter on FOX today.

Fortunately, there is a Democrat in Pennsylvania who is obliterating the GOP/FOX lies: Joe Sestak. Not only is Sestak a decorated veteran (the highest ranking vet serving in Congress), he's challenging Specter in the Democratic primary. Sestak issued a tough statement today, which blasted the lies and Specter:

"As a Veteran, I read with deep concern an editorial entitled 'The Death Book for Veterans,' which accuses the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) of deliberately sending Veterans a 'hurry-up-and-die message' with a pamphlet on living wills and end-of-life care. Anyone may criticize -- and, indeed, suggest improvements to the pamphlet -- but to seriously allege that an honest effort by the VA that sincerely helps families plan for the most difficult emotional experience of their lives is a 'death book' is counter to the public's and Veterans' interest.

"This is the same kind of sensationalized rhetoric and misleading accusations behind the misinformation on 'death panels' in the health care reform debate, and I am disappointed that Arlen Specter would lend credence to this insincere rhetoric by calling for a Senate hearing without, by his own admission, even reading the pamphlet.

That's right, Specter hadn't read the document but was on FOX pushing the lie. Old GOP habits die hard -- and Specter was a GOPer for a long, long, long time.
Sestak was also on Rachel Maddow last night -- and he's outraged by those trying to scare veterans:

Sestak not only destroyed the GOP/FOX lies, he made Specter look like a buffoon. Read More......

Senator Sanders slams Bernanke nomination

If only more in Congress and the White House shared this view. Bernanke was part of the problem and remains an obstacle to change. Here's the full statement:

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today issued the following statement on the nomination of Ben S. Bernanke for another term as chairman of the Federal Reserve:

"As a result of the greed, irresponsibility and illegal behavior of Wall Street our country has experienced the worst economic decline since the Great Depression. Mr. Bernanke was head of the Fed and the nation's chief economist as this crisis, driven by reckless speculation, developed. Tragically, like the rest of the Bush administration, he was asleep at the wheel during this period and did nothing to move our financial system onto safer grounds.

“As the middle class of this country continues to shrink, we need a chairman of the Federal Reserve who is more concerned about expanding the productive economy – increasing decent-paying jobs for all Americans – than continuing to fan the flames of Wall Street greed and outrageous compensation packages.”

Read More......

McCain attends loony far-right health care forum

These are the same crowds McCain drew during the campaign. Who are these people? They're certifiable, in addition to dumb as rocks. Listen to the first woman ask her question. I assume we're to believe she was born and raised in this country. You wouldn't know it by her English, or her question. At some point the Republicans need to come to terms with whether they truly want these people making up the mainstay of their party.

Read More......

White House: Economy worse than previously forecasted

For starters, this should not be a surprise to anyone. Of course it's bad. That's part of why many of us have been bothered by the gentle handling of Wall Street. Buying into the Wall Street view of the world is not what liberals expected.

For the GOP to pounce on this now and talk about deficits is ridiculous because a large chunk of this money was already out there when Obama took over and again, this recession is primarily a GOP recession. I say "mostly" because the Clinton economic team - the friends-of-Robert-Rubin folks - worked closely with the GOP on this. They too deserve their share of the blame. Republicans crying about deficits is also funny considering what they have done in recent years.

The spending in recent months had to be done and as we're seeing, it is likely that the spending was not enough. The recession could very easily take another drop because the stimulus cash has run its course and private industry has yet to take off. If anything, the White House deserves blame for not forcing through a larger stimulus, but ahh, look at what they received in the name of bipartisanship. Maybe it's time for Obama to start listening to the liberal economists out there and show a bit of passion and push back against the GOP on this issue.

The US economy will shrink far more than expected this year and will rebound much more slowly than forecast after that, according to a bleak new assessment by the White House Budget Office.

The federal government also faces exploding deficits and mounting debt over the next decade, far worse than what the Obama administration had estimated just a few months ago.

The revised estimates project that the economy will contract by 2.8 percent this year, more than twice what the White House predicted earlier this year.

Read More......

Debunking more FOX-fed lies about health care

A new lie enters the health care debate. This time, FOX "News" has taken a pamphlet created by the Bush Administration, a pamphlet that Bush used up until the final months of his presidency (even though FOX claimed he "pulled it" long before that), and FOX claims that the pamphlet is a "death book" urging disabled vets to die.

NOTE FROM JOHN: We've all been arguing for a while now that the Democrats need to give FOX a swift kick in the ass. Yet they keep going on FOX shows. The President, and Democrats, needs to get tough with FOX, and with the Republicans overall, or they're going to continue with this crap. FOX News needs to be kicked out of the White House if this is the kind of thing they're going to say on the air. Just don't give them access to anyone in the administration or any of the Dems in Congress - don't let them travel on presidential trips - then see who's going to want to work at a TV network that has no one to interview for the next four to eight years. As for the Republicans more generally, at some point the President needs to stand up and knock their blocks off over this stuff. Show some anger. Show some backbone. "Be a man," as the no-longer-PC, but still accurate, saying goes. Fact sheet rebuttals are nice, and helpful, but sometimes you just have to punch a guy in the face. (The balls work nicely too.)

And, Media Matters destroys it:

These liars are shameless. They are the base of the GOP. And, they are obviously in no mood for bipartisanship. Read More......

South Carolina's House GOPers may impeach Mark Sanford

In between rounds of golf, the Republicans who control South Carolina's House of Representatives will be deciding whether or not to impeach Mark Sanford:

House Republicans will discuss whether to impeach Gov. Mark Sanford when they meet in Myrtle Beach this weekend.

Lawmakers, once reluctant to discuss removing Sanford, will weigh what it would take to force the Republican governor out and how the process would work.

Republicans expect the meeting — an annual gathering to discuss agenda, issues and politics, and to play golf — will be dominated by discussion of Sanford’s future — and what role the House will play in it.

Sanford has been under fire since secretly leaving the country for five days in June to meet his lover and later admitting an extramarital affair with the Argentine woman. Since then, Sanford has been under fire for flying in expensive business-class seats and his use of state and private planes. All could violate state law or ethics rules.

Thanks to Mark Sanford and the SC GOP for keeping this scandal alive. We look forward to the impeachment. Read More......

Sean Hannity considering a run for president

No way temper-boy could take it. Read More......

Bernanke's Federal Reserve loses transparency suit

At least someone in the system is interested in the old fashioned idea of transparency. The White House scrapped that crazy idea already and the Federal Reserve sought to protect their friends on Wall Street by withholding details about federal spending.

A federal judge on Monday ruled against an effort by the U.S. Federal Reserve to block disclosure of companies that participated in and securities covered by a series of emergency funding programs as the global credit crisis began to intensify.

In a 47-page opinion, Chief District Judge Loretta Preska of the federal court in Manhattan said the central bank failed to show that disclosure would cause borrowers in the Federal Reserve System to suffer "imminent competitive harm," by stigmatizing them for using Fed lending programs.

"The board essentially speculates on how a borrower might enter a downward spiral of financial instability if its participation in the Federal Reserve lending programs were to be disclosed," she wrote. "Conjecture, without evidence of imminent harm, simply fails to meet the board's burden."

Read More......

NY Times finds an "average" American opposed to health insurance reform (a conservative GOPer watches FOX, listens to Rush and reads Drudge)

The NY Times has one of those front page interviews today with an "average" American who vehemently opposes health insurance reform -- but isn't screaming and ranting about it. Apparently, the reporter, Kevin Sack, wants us to belive that there are some non-screamers out there who oppose reform because of their own experiences. Yet, he found a guy who just happened to parrot the right wing talking points on reform. What a coincidence:

The Colliers are committed conservatives who have voted Republican in presidential elections since 1980. They receive much of their information from Fox News, Rush Limbaugh’s radio program and Matt Drudge’s Web site.

And, there's this:

“I’ve never seen the government as intrusive as it is today,” Mr. Collier said, harkening back to President Bill Clinton’s declaration that the era of big government was over.

“Here comes this new guy in town,” he said, “and he wants to centralize everything. He wants to take over the car companies. He wants to take over the banks. Now he wants to take over health care. It’s a power grab, and if he gets this, there’s no turning it around.”

Yep. Just your average Obama-hating, FOX News-watching, Limbaugh-listening, Drudge-reading conservative Republican, who remarkably opposes health insurance reform.

Nice work, Kevin Sack. Read More......

Report: Citi looking at another $44 billion in losses

Yet somehow, it's OK to pay $130 million to two people. Maybe I just don't understand the newfangled, fancy-schmancy accounting methods of Wall Street but it strikes me as unthinkable to even ask for exceptions to the bonus limitations when the company is in such a position. When a business is broke, it's broke, right? Not unless your people saturate Treasury and play golf with the President. Does fairness register at all with anyone on Wall Street? Or the White House? Do they all think that people in the rest of the country find this acceptable? Sadly, it doesn't appear as they they care. Reuters:

Fox-Pitt Kelton expects Citigroup to face another $44 billion in loan losses over the next 18 months, but said the embattled bank's capital is now strong following the "painfully dilutive" preferred conversion.

Citi received $45 billion of bailout money from the U.S. Treasury's Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, and the government now owns a 34 percent stake in the company.

"We are not modelling in write-downs in problem securities, given recent stability in prices," analyst David Trone wrote in a note to clients Monday.

Read More......

White House: Nearly half the US could get Swine Flu

ABC:

The report says that under a worst-case scenario, between 60 and 120 million Americans could get sick with the swine flu and another 30 million could contract the virus but not show symptoms. Between 30,000 and 90,000 could die -- more than twice the annual average of deaths associated with the seasonal flu. Those deaths generally occur in people older than 65.

The swine flu is "unusual" however, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said, because it tends to affect children and young adults more harshly than others and "hasn't yet affected seniors."

The report says the skyrocketing infections will peak on Oct. 15 -- the exact date a vaccine is expected to be delivered.

Read More......

Tuesday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

At 9:00 a.m. EDT, Obama is taking a break from his vacation to announce that he's reappointing Ben Bernanke as Chair of the Federal Reserve Bank. That does require Senate confirmation.

Between 9:30 a.m. and 10 a.m., we're going to get a slew of numbers about the budget -- and the budget deficit and our national debt. Both the Obama administration's Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) will be releasing data on the budget.

So, that's the early part of the morning on the East Coast. We'll see what happens with the rest of the day... Read More......

Dodd to provide 'thorough and comprehensive' hearing for Bernanke

Oh, I'll bet he's shaking in his boots much the way Wall Street was when Congress went after them. To restate the obvious, there will be no "hope and change" by Obama or anyone else in Washington. Once again (and again and again) it's all about maintaining the status quo. Whether it's hiring a team of Citi employees to run Treasury, hiring the friends-of-Robert-Rubin to "fix" the economy that they helped create, golfing with shady bank CEOs or appointing Bernanke to a second term it remains crystal clear that Obama is terrified of change.

He continues to embrace "conventional wisdom" and maintaining the business-as-usual approach. I can appreciate that you can't always get your way on everything and need to compromise but the Obama economic approach is sadly anything but change. It's more of the same and that is not what I voted for last year. If anyone can kindly point me to anything that sniffs of important change, please do. Looking at the big issues, it is missing. Obama correctly made the election last year about the economy but since then, it's all about staying the course. And now it's tough talk from Dodd.

"I still have serious concerns about the Federal Reserve's failure to protect consumers and I strongly believe these responsibilities should go to an independent consumer financial protection agency," Dodd said in a statement.

"I expect many serious questions will be raised about the role of the Federal Reserve moving forward, and what authorities it should and should not have."

Read More......

Zimbabwe continues to struggle

Until Robert Mugabe is out of the picture, very little progress can be expected. Mugabe has enriched himself thanks to business deals, most recently with China. Meanwhile, the former breadbasket of southern Africa that had a model education system has been reduced to this. AFP:

Without supplies, schools are having to improvise to keep their classes running, after thousands of teachers fled due to economic hardship and the political violence of the last year.

"If you look at textbooks for example, ideally each pupil should have their own textbook or share at a ratio of one textbook for three pupils," Madosi said.

"But we have a situation where seven and in some cases 12 pupils share one book. In the worst cases, some textbooks are just not available -- or only the teacher has a personal copy.

"In the end the teacher spends most of his time doing clerical work, that is, copying exercises and writing on the board."

The West needs to step up and do much more to help Morgan Tsvangirai move Zimbabwe back on track. Getting around Mugabe and his friends is not easy but it's also not impossible. There's no reason why it can't return to being a prosperous country. Read More......

Recovery in China looks rocky

When the economic crisis hit, Beijing moved quickly to respond with a very strong stimulus plan. Replacing the booming export business that was suddenly grinding to a halt was going to be difficult but the stimulus did help shift spending for internal projects. The theory was to keep the economy moving while the West had time to regroup and start purchasing again. The purchasing may not have recovered (and won't anytime soon) and now the initial stimulus is starting to wear off. The reality of frugal Western shoppers is setting in so China now plans to keep a soft touch on the banks so they can keep the cash moving. Hmmm, I think we know how this story goes. Reuters:

Investors in China led the selling across Asia Tuesday, with concerns about more speed bumps for the economy pushing bank shares lower. Most major indexes across the region were also in the red.

The Shanghai Composite Index sold off sharply, led by banking stocks, after Premier Wen Jiabao said China would keep its monetary policy loose as the economy faces new difficulties, including trouble boosting domestic consumption.

In a downbeat statement published after the market closed on Monday, Wen said Beijing would ensure a sustainable flow of credit and a reasonably sufficient provision of liquidity to support growth.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out over time. When the money stops moving in China - all bubbles come to an end, after all - what happens to this regime? Read More......

Obama golfed with UBS President today

What, was Robert Rubin not available? It's no wonder the US gets shafted so badly by the banks when the President and Treasury is so chummy with that crowd:

One of President Obama's golfing buddies Monday was a top donor to his campaign and the president of a bank at the center of a U.S. investigation into illegal tax shelters.

Robert Wolf, the president of UBS Americas, a Swiss-based bank, joined Obama at the elite, and difficult, Farm Neck Golf Club in Oak Bluffs. Deputy press secretary Bill Burton described the two men as "friends."

This does explain a few mysteries about the soft handling of the banks who trashed our global economy. Read More......